The invention relates to a missile system in which either a jamming laser beam or intercepting rockets are triggered in response to detection of incoming missiles.
A defense system of this kind is disclosed in the publication "Aviation Week and Space Technology," Mar. 28, 1994, Pages 57-60. It consists of an electronic control unit, an "IR Jammer Head", and an electro-optical missile sensor. The gimbal-mounted "IR Jammer Head" is provided with three openings, of which the largest is intended for a xenon arc lamp, the middle opening contains the optical elements for the array sensor in the missile tracker, and the smallest opening is for the laser optics. This device, however, is ineffective against missiles which do not have optical homing heads, and has only limited utility against those with modern infrared homing heads.
While missiles with optical homing heads can be combated both with jammer lasers and with intercepting rockets, the use of intercepting rockets is very uneconomical in this respect. Missiles without optical homing heads, on the other hand, can only be combated practically with intercepting rockets.
The object of the present invention is to provide a missile defense system which assures reliable, safe, and more economical self-defense against missiles of all the types mentioned.
This object is achieved according to the invention by the combination of a proximity sensor for the enemy missile, an intercepting rocket and an aimed light beam. The light beam can be used either alone, as an optical jammer against an optical homing head of the incoming missile, or together with the intercepting rocket, to steer it optically using either a semi-active or beam rider steering method. The missile defense system according to the invention may be either ground based or carried aboard an aircraft.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.